As I write this review, it is May 24, 2019. Why is that important, you may ask? The answer is quite complicated. When I received a promotional package (no, not physical release) it was somewhere around March. April maybe, I cannot exactly remember. Included in the package was the music, photos, cover art and a note. No, not a biography or a press release. Just a note forbidding me from writing or sharing any info on this album before the release date. So, why the fuck would you even send it to me so early? And what happened to the biography? Or the press release? Being a forgetful man myself, I honestly say that I forgot about it. Until the band decided to remind me.

So, acting like a true professional, I browsed their Facebook page, which contained only their line-up, as far as the useful information is concerned. But, there was a link to the official website. Which does not exist. That’s where my professionalism ran out. I have no idea how old is the band since there are two years mentioned on Facebook. I don’t even know if this is their first or fifty-third album. Fuck, if you are not professional, why should I be?

Now, let’s focus on the music. Deceptic plays a modern type of Metal. Being from Gothenburg one cannot avoid comparisons with the 21st century works by their country mates, like In Flames for instance. Whole lot of melodies, pumped-up energetic feel, groovy breakdowns, growl-to-scream-to-clean vocals… In short, by the book Swedish sound of the new age. Well, this quintet does add a bit of their own to the overall soundscape. Some parts do go “the American way”. Especially the chorus arrangements that remind me of Stone Sour, for example. Coming back to Europe, Mnemic sounds like another one of their influences. Speaking about “full body” production and a Progressive Metal touch to “Continuum Unknown” in particular. Slight Dream Theater touch is also recognizable, yet hidden from plain sight.

Technically speaking, the songs lack nothing. Well arranged, well performed and up to standards in any way possible. What the album does lack is a “hit song”. Or a couple of them. After the end you can hardly remember anything. And this is not a long record. Just 36 minutes of play time. If you put it on “repeat” it is quite difficult to recognize where the album starts anew. Deceptic needs more “hooks” to draw attention to themselves. Having a beautiful and intriguing cover artwork doesn’t help much these days. This way, I just get a feeling that the dreaded “average pile” grows by the minute.